Reyona spoke with her dad that morning before leaving the house.
As always, he was careful not to condemn her actions.
He just wanted to understand why she did not trust them enough to keep such information from them.
The more understanding he was though, the worse Reyona felt.
She explained to him how she knew what she did was not ideal, especially about how she came to know the children.
"So, this whole marriage thing was because of them?"
"Yes."
"Is it legal?"
"Yes, but temporary."
"Do you love him?"
"No, I don't."
"Oh, Reyona, did he force you into doing this?"
"Not at all, I volunteered to do this. It was the only choice at the moment."
"No, my darling, there is always another choice. Always."
"I am sorry that I didn't think of it. I am sorry that I did not tell you and Mum about it. I just didn't want you to be as upset as you are right now."
"No, my dear. You should share things like this with us. We are your family. We should be able to share whatever burden it is you have with you. I know you have always been independent and think you must do everything yourself, but it doesn't have to be so with family. We love you, Reyona. We are supposed to be there for you when you need us."
"I am sorry that I didn't think of it that way. I am so sorry. Also, I made Toria promise not to tell you. She also learned about this very late."
"You can't force that girl to do what she doesn't want to do, so I am sure she kept it from us for her own free will. She did it because she loved you. As we do too, you know. We love you. Even though it might not have felt like that for the first few years of your life. We love you, Reyona, no matter how badly we might have handled things then. Your mother felt maybe you were still punishing us for what happened then. She thinks that is why you hardly come to us when you need help."
"No, not at all. I love you guys too. I am sorry for not telling you."
"Will this not affect your company again? I can see everything they have started saying. Will this cause another scandal? Do you need us to do anything?"
"No, I have it handled, Dad. I will keep you updated about things. I am sorry once again."
"No, no, I am okay. Your mother is very upset though. She is more afraid for you than hurt, but she is very upset. I have just spoken with George. She has been crying."
"I didn't mean to hurt either of you, Dad. I didn't mean to. I am so sorry."
By the time Reyona was done with the call, she had tears in her eyes and grief in her heart.
She took a moment to regain her composure before she left the room.
She expected to find him somewhere around, but she was soon informed that he had left the house.
Firmly reminding herself that his actions had nothing to do with her, she shut off any guilty feelings which wanted to trickle into her mind.
She had enough to deal with already.
The children were also not in the house because Jane had taken them out to the swimming pool to practise their lessons.
Reyona watched them for a moment from the window and smiled at their activities.
If Allysyn had known how to swim before, she might not have helplessly ended up at the hospital.
Reminding herself how much good her decision was doing rather than the bad, she turned away to face the consequences of her actions.
Reyona took the phytonic blue BMW X3 that morning.
She was sharply dressed in a blue blazer and pants, with a cream silk shirt underneath.
Her favourite pearl necklace adorned her neck with matching earrings.
All she had on her wrist was a cream diamond-studded Carter wristwatch which matched her thin-strapped heels.
Her minimal make-up was artfully done and her blazing eyes were covered with a pair of dark-lens glasses.
Samantha called just as she was getting into her car. "We are ready, ma."
*********
Reyona was grateful for the efficiency with which Rouarke had organised the presence of top reporters from the most formidable media outfits from all over the country.
She knew this would have been a great coup for him if his station broadcast this first, but still, he had done as she had requested.
Reyona knew she was never going to forget this favour, just as many others he had done for her too.
She wanted this interview to cover as many grounds as possible within the shortest time.
She wanted its coverage to be even further than what the slanderous posts had done.
Since they wanted to use her personal decisions to ruin her company, she would use that opportunity to make her company known to those who had never even heard of it before.
Samantha and Phil met her at the entrance when she arrived.
Her security personnel with the external outfit that had been hired for the occasion effortlessly easily held back the paparazzi that had tried to gain her attention from the moment she stepped out of Maxwell's area and had followed her to the company.
"What would I do without you two?" she said with a confident smile as she reached out to take their hands.
"You will handle this like the boss lady that you are, I am sure," Samantha answered.
Phil whistled as he asked, "Did I ever mention that you are the hottest boss I have ever worked with?"
Samantha rolled her eyes as she said "You started working here straight after college."
"Still the hottest" Phil said. "With that killing aura too. I can already feel these motherfuckers running for their lives"
Samantha smiled as she looked at Reyona. "You look superb, boss. Are you ready?"
"Very" Reyona answered.
Rouarke came to meet her before she entered the conference room set up for the interview.
"Ms. Dexter" he greeted respectfully.
"Thank you for setting this up, Rouarke. You are a lifesaver."
"It is the least I can do. I was able to get three international reporters to key in too. They are very reliable. Just like the reporters who couldn't make it here on time, they would join us online."
"Like I said, a lifesaver."
Rouarke smiled and asked, "Are you ready?"
"Yes, I am. You are doing the interview, aren't you?"
"I wouldn't miss it for anything. I already have the questions that all the reporters would like to ask. You can trust everyone I have in that room to do a good job."
"Thank you," Reyona said as she mentally prepared herself to face the camera to defend herself and her company.
Again.
"After you, ma'am", Rouarke said, and Reyona nodded.
She looked behind her to see Phil wink at her and Samantha smiled reassuringly.
Reyona stepped into the room professionally lit and ready for her.
After greeting the few reporters who could make it to the interview, Reyona took her seat with an easy smile on her face.
The reporters were all with their equipment and ready to film.
As Rouarke started off the live interview with introductions and easy questions, Reyona efficiently answered them as she anticipated the more intruding questions.
Determined that this time, she would come out of this smelling like roses.